The screen fell into darkness.
When light appeared again, Mydei was holding a long spear, its tip pointed directly at the former king of Castrum Kremnos—Eurypon.
Eurypon showed no fear in the face of death. Instead, there was even a hint of admiration.
"What a valiant warrior… Even the weak people of Okhema can produce such a hero. Fulfill the victor's duty—state your name, warrior! I demand a glorious death from you!"
Mydei coldly stared at this former king, this "father."
"'Glory'… what does that word have to do with you?"
The next moment, his voice rose.
"Listen well! I am the leader of the Castrum Kremnos isolated forces—Mydeimos! I have come to pierce your chest, Father!"
Hearing this, Eurypon was clearly stunned.
"It's you… the beast scorned by all. You truly rejected death. The prophecy was right… My Castrum Kremnos dynasty will ultimately end in your hands…"
[ How ironic. Once labeled by prophecy, the warrior who was once praised became a despised beast. ]
[ Oh, Oedipus Rex! ]
Mydei sneered coldly. "Rejected? You're wrong. It was death that feared me. Thanks to it, I gained this body of steel. And you—you are already terminally ill, Father. The one who threw me into the Sea of the Dead was you. The one who tried to enslave the Titans and desecrate the divine was also you…"
"HKS! Weak king—even the lowliest hyena is a thousand times nobler than you! And now, fate's revenge has come for you!"
Eurypon laughed loudly.
"Then swing your spear! Take my crown, use the blood of the former king to anoint yourself, inherit everything… rightfully become the new king of Castrum Kremnos."
"No, I don't want the crown. Listen well—if the only destiny for a king of Castrum Kremnos is one kind, then it means nothing to me… I only want your life! To avenge my mother and my comrades, nothing more!"
[ Lan: You just said revenge, right? ]
[ Lan: Yet you dye your hair white and come back as an Emanator. ]
[ Don't say that. The third Path might actually be Hunt. Look at Phainon's revenge against the black-robed person and Mydei's revenge against his father. ]
[ That shouldn't be. Lan wouldn't be stingy with power. ]
— —
"But the walls of Castrum Kremnos will not collapse with me… My son, do you really think you can escape fate's grasp? Hahahaha… It's all the same. You and I… we both feed on strife and fear… Now, kill me!"
The spear tip slowly sank into Eurypon's chest.
"Son of the Gorgon, destined to bathe in blood to claim the crown—!"
After the memory ended, Mydei unknowingly left the Vortex of Creation and walked into the marketplace.
He recalled what Krateros had said—go find the craftsman Chartonus, and there might be something to gain.
...
Before long.
Mydei arrived in front of Chartonus.
"Great Artisan, how have you been lately?"
Chartonus stopped the hammer in his hand. "King of Castrum Kremnos, it is you. I had a feeling you would come."
Mydei asked with interest, "You knew I would come?"
"I heard about your situation. The direction you are heading—you are searching for it; you have many questions." Chartonus changed the subject and took out an exquisite ring. "But before that—take this."
"This is…?"
"The royal signet ring of Castrum Kremnos. It belonged to your mother. Reforged and restored… by me."
Memories buried in the past awakened in Mydei.
"Mother clearly threw it into the Sea of the Dead…"
"It took a long time to salvage. We were very lucky." Chartonus replied.
[ Chartonus's inverted sentence style feels quite authentic. ]
[ I feel like I'm starting to lose the ability to speak normally. ]
"To salvage a tiny signet ring from the Sea of the Dead—I can't imagine how much patience and courage that required. I owe you a favor." Mydei solemnly accepted the ring.
"No need for thanks. I must repay you for saving my life." Seeing Mydei accept the ring, Chartonus returned to the previous topic. "You came with questions. Speak now."
Mydei fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"The destiny I have always denied has finally come knocking. I should take the authority of 'Strife.' That way, everyone will be satisfied: the Chrysos Heirs, the Senate, the people of Castrum Kremnos, and the bards who write poetry…"
"But you are still hesitating, young king. Why the indecision?" Chartonus saw through it with one sentence.
"Because of my people. Men, women, elders, children… The desire of the Castrum Kremnos people to return home is deeply rooted in their hearts. They have been waiting for this day, longing for the return of their king. Only then can the children of Strife return home, embrace tradition—even though most of them have only heard of that 'tradition' in epics—and gather around their king to throw themselves into battle."
"You think this is not a good thing."
[ Emma. That inverted sentence! ]
[ Hahaha, interesting. ]
"For the past thousand years, the people of Castrum Kremnos have lived in a bloody cycle. Revenge, conquest, prosperity, decline… In that history, how much innocent blood flowed into the Sea of the Dead? How many meaningless sacrifices could have been avoided? If I must accept this destiny, become the totem of 'Strife,' and lead my people to repeat the same mistakes… then yes, I do feel fear. Fear of 'becoming king.'"
After listening to Mydei's troubles, Chartonus nodded slightly. "A different kind of Castrum Kremnos person. You truly are…"
— —
On the other side.
In order to reconcile the people of Castrum Kremnos and Okhema, Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon decided to pay respects to the Titans and recover their memories.
But at this moment, the entire screen dimmed.
Candlelight slowly lit up.
A young Tribios was lying in her mother's arms.
"Mommy, Mommy! I had a dream last night."
Her mother gently stroked her hair.
"Oh? What did you dream about, Tribios, my good girl?"
"I dreamed I became lots and lots of me! We turned the moon into a boat and the stars into sails, drifting on the sea. Wherever the wind blew, that's where we went!"
[ Pfft— ]
[ What a sudden stab! ]
[ Why turn such a warm scene into this? ]
[ Did miHoYo's writers get threatened? ]
"It sounds like a beautiful dream," her mother replied gently.
"Yeah! Even though the sea and the sky were so dark… but none of the many mes were scared, because we sang together! The sea breeze carried us to a small island. The wind there smelled of flowers. There were sheep going 'baa' and birds going 'chirp,' welcoming us as guests. There were so many animals on the island, but no one ever fought!"
"The Saintess of Janus can hear the guidance of the Gate God. Perhaps what you dreamed of was a glimpse of some paradise in Amphoreus."
Tribios furrowed her brows. "R-really?"
Her mother keenly noticed. "What's wrong, Tribios? You seem unhappy?"
"Because… on that island, I also saw a black mountain on the other side of the sea. It was very, very tall. That mountain seemed alive, constantly moving closer to the island. Later I realized it wasn't a mountain at all—it was a huge, huge wave… The wave crashed onto the island as if it wanted to devour it. The little animals tried to drive it away, but they couldn't stop it… In the end—'Boom—!' and then I woke up."
[ It's talking about the Black Tide, right? ]
[ No need to doubt yourself. ]
[ I feel like the Gate is somewhat similar to Finality. ]
[ After all, both are related to prophecy. ]
"Hmm… black waves…" Her mother's voice dropped significantly.
"Mommy, are there really such scary things in reality?"
"Yes… unfortunately, it does exist in Amphoreus, but it is still very far from our temple. People call it the 'Black Tide,' but it actually has nothing to do with the sea. It has no form or appearance, yet it can swallow animals, people, and even Titans whole… turning them into black monsters."
[ It can swallow Titans too? ]
[ Obviously. How else did Nikador go mad? ]
[ Why are you shouting so loudly! ]
"Oh… the Black Tide is so bad! I don't want everyone to become its little snacks. Is there a way to drive this thing away?"
"Of course, my good child. You just need to be obedient, listen to the adults, study hard, and grow into a proper Saintess… Then the sacred Janus will send down guidance and show the people the right path."
Tribios clapped her hands. "Hoo-wah… Eat well, study hard, become a Saintess!"
But the next moment, she paused. "But Mommy just said the Black Tide can even swallow Titans… What if even Janus gets swallowed? What do we do then?"
"Then… it will be up to the Saintess to guide the people. After all, we are the earthly incarnations of the Gate God, right?"
"Right!"
"Hehe. But one person alone is not enough. When you grow up, you will definitely meet many friends. You must do your best to unite them. That is also our duty as priestesses."
"Friends? Will they all have pretty red hair like Mommy and me?"
"Not necessarily. But they will definitely be as smart and as kind as you."
— —
Tribbie slowly woke up in an unfamiliar room.
"Mommy?"
"Am I… dreaming?"
At that moment, her mother's voice came from inside the room.
"Silly child, of course it's not a dream. Mommy has always been by your side."
"What?"
"My good girl, stop sulking. We called all your doll friends over—just like usual. Let's play 'hide and seek,' okay? Tribios has the smartest little head. You definitely remember where everyone is hiding."
Tribbie shook her head. The voice sounded familiar, yet so distant.
"I… don't remember… Who am I looking for?"
"Of course, it's your companions who will drive away the Black Tide with you."
At this moment, the camera panned across the room, showing many cute dolls.
However, these dolls looked very similar to Tribbie at first glance.
[ What cute dolls. Quick, link them! ]
[ Is this guy really dumb or pretending? ]
[ Why do I feel like I've returned to Penacony, back to the Dream of a Child? ]
— —
Afterward, Tribbie began searching the room for the scattered dolls.
However, the entire process felt more like searching for lost memories.
She found three dolls she had once named Trianne, Trinnon, and Tribbie, and placed them on a music box.
Her mother's voice came from it once again.
Until…
Tribbie felt a wave of dizziness.
The screen was covered with a blurry filter.
Her mother's voice also began to cut in and out.
"What… is happening?"
As her mother spoke, the dolls representing Trianne and Trinnon completely disappeared.
Her mother's anxious reminder came through:
"Hurry █ escape █ █ Tribios █ ██ hurry escape ██ █ ██ █"
"The Black Tide ██ █ has reached █ ██ █ the city walls █ ██ ███ █ ██"
Tribbie began fleeing toward the exit.
However, more and more dolls appeared before her.
"Why... why… are there dolls everywhere…?!"
"This ██ is █ the Saintess's █ ██ sacrifice ██ █ ██ █"
"You █ cannot █ █ reach █ ██ the end ██ █ ██ █"
"Only █ one person █ █ can reach █ ██ the end ██ █ █"
[ So these dolls are the other deceased avatars? ]
[ Yeah, probably. ]
[ I feel like Tribbie and the others share senses, so… ]
[ Stop talking, bro! Please stop! ]
[ The main thing is to see how many avatars they actually have. ]
[ Damn, that's a pretty heavy stab. ]
Tribbie clenched her fists tightly, but she still replied firmly, "I know… I know…! Even if we can't reach the end, it's okay… We have already made up our minds!"
[ She really is so strong! ]
In the end, her mother uttered a line specially highlighted by subtitles:
"Many will part from one, and only that one will witness the miracle—since your resolve is firm, then cross the Black Tide and part the fog for Amphoreus… See you tomorrow, my dear Tribios."
— —
"Mommy…!"
Tribbie suddenly opened her eyes. Above her was Kephale.
"Are we still dreaming?"
Aglaea asked with concern from the side, "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Perhaps. We haven't dreamed in a long time."
"It is not yet the hour of the Gate. You can still rest for a long while."
"No… our hearts are still pounding."
Suddenly, a ruthless glint flashed in Aglaea's eyes. "Perhaps that crude old soldier from Castrum Kremnos frightened Trinnon, which affected you as well. If you wish, I can use golden threads to pierce his chest right now."
"Agy…! Don't always say such scary things…"
"It was a joke. If necessary, I wouldn't have waited until now."
Tribbie let out a long sigh. "Sigh…"
"Would you like to talk about that dream? If you keep it bottled up for too long, it can easily become a root of illness."
"We… dreamed of Mommy. But the dream itself wasn't much… It's just that having such a dream for no reason at this time makes me uneasy."
Aglaea instantly understood. "You mean…"
Tribbie did not deny it. "It's about Trianne… Even if we never use the power of the 'Hundred Realms Gate' again from now on… her soul breath is slowly drifting away from her body. Time… is probably running out."
Aglaea suggested, "Perhaps… letting her pass on the 'Gatekeeper' duty early and live the rest of her life as an ordinary child without worries wouldn't be a bad thing."